But there is hope. After a successful girls-led nationwide campaign supported by Plan International, the Dominican Republic is closing a loophole in its marriage law that allows girls to be married before the age of 18.

This is a massive step forward in advancing girls’ rights throughout the country!

A major victory for future generations

Despite the minimum age for marriage in the Dominican Republic being 18 years, children were still being married due to a loophole in the law that specifies that girls can marry at 15 and boys can marry at 16 with parental consent.

However, the country’s parliament voted to change the law on May 30, 2017, and the loophole is expected to be removed imminently – enabling more girls to learn, lead, decide and thrive without the threat of child marriage.

“It is a momentous day for girls’ rights in the Dominican Republic,” says Aracelis De Los Santos, Country Director for Plan International Dominican Republic.

“This decision is a bold step to end child marriage and will help save the lives and futures of hundreds of thousands of girls.”

Our work is not over yet

When it comes to ending child marriage in the Dominican Republic, changing the law is the first major step towards positive change.

“Our next steps as an organization will be to ensure that child marriage is included in the penal code and to continue with our public awareness campaign to strengthen child protection networks and help people understand that child marriage is a crime.”

“Most importantly, however, we will continue working with girls themselves to help them realise their true worth and to understand that they have the potential to achieve great things.”

You can also make change possible

We are incredibly proud to have played a part in creating momentous change for girls in the Dominican Republic – but none of it would be possible without the support of our generous donors!

If you believe that girls in developing countries should be able to exercise their rights to be educated, healthy and counted, then join us as we work to create a brighter future for children, families and entire communities!

About Plan International

Founded in 1937, we are one of the world’s oldest and largest international development agencies, working in partnership with millions of people around the world to end global poverty. Not for profit, independent and inclusive of all faiths and cultures, we have only one agenda: to improve the lives of children.